


Cover You

by ren (renegadewriter)



Series: Of Blades and Cannons [2]
Category: Transformers (Bay Movies), Transformers - All Media Types
Genre: Being A Twin Without A Twin Sucks, Community: tf_rare_pairing, Ironhide Worries, M/M, Prompt Fill, Sideswipe Needs to Learn How to Fight, tf-rare-pairing Fanwork-A-Thon
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2014-08-16
Updated: 2014-08-16
Packaged: 2018-02-13 08:44:13
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,631
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/2144340
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/renegadewriter/pseuds/ren
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Sideswipe is unbalanced without his twin, and his fighting skills have suffered greatly due to it. After nearly getting killed one too many times, Ironhide has had enough and takes matter into his own servos. Or tries to at least. </p><p>Prompt: Disciplinary Action</p>
            </blockquote>





	Cover You

**Author's Note:**

> Written for the [**Fanwork-A-Thon**](http://tf-rare-pairing.livejournal.com/555225.html) on the LJ community [**TF Rare Pairings**](http://tf-rare-pairing.livejournal.com/).
> 
> Prompt: Sideswipe/Ironhide - Disciplinary Action

Ironhide’d had enough. 

They’d gone out to fight a group of rogue Decepticons only for it to nearly end in catastrophe. And it was Sideswipe’s fault. The silver twin was a good fighter. A damn good one actually. He’d been a gladiator in Kaon after all, and you didn’t survive the pits by being an average fighter. But that’s where the problem was. Sideswipe was used to fighting with his servos. Close combat, one on one, or sometimes five to one but whatever. And yes his opponents would sometimes be given a knife or a small gun, just to even the odds. But Sideswipe had always triumphed. And of course, he usually fought with Sunstreaker, their twin bond allowing them a 360 degree awareness of their surroundings. 

When they’d joined the Autobots and were left to his tender mercies, Ironhide had tried to drill into them the importance of watching their own back and not relying on the other to do so. They’d, at least, acknowledged its importance, but couldn’t shake off what came naturally. 

It made him and all the others despair, because whenever they got separated in combat their chances of getting hurt upped by at least 60%. Prowl himself had run the numbers. 

It was maddening, but so far they’d dealt with it. Until now. Sideswipe had gotten separated from Sunstreaker and their bond was muted by distance. It left Sideswipe uncoordinated, clumsy and even a hindrance at times. He could manage with one opponent, but in this fight, there had been at least twelve. 

From where he’d been bashing a Decepticon’s helm in, Ironhide had gotten a few glimpses of the silver twin. He’d been fighting at least four Decepticons, and for every hit he managed to land they’d land one in return, even if with Sideswipe’s speed he’d managed to lessen the damage they left behind. 

Still, the blade user was all over the place. The fighting maneuvers and stances Ironhide had drilled into all the mechs he’d trained were nonexistent. He was a feral bot lashing out whenever someone came too close. 

It had taken Dino and Bumblebee coming to his aid for Ironhide to stop panicking. With three other Decepticons in his path there was no way he would have gotten over there in time. 

After it was all over, Sideswipe had been his hyperactive self and rolled around, being obnoxious and pestering Ratchet. But Ironhide was not happy. This was at least the sixth time since he’d arrived that the twin was in battle, and all had been the same. Sideswipe was like a new recruit let loose on the battlefield with no training and no self preservation. 

That. Would. _Change._

 

**0000**

 

Lennox winced as Sideswipe did a spectacular arc in the air and fell on the asphalt with such force, it sent shockwaves all the way to where he was standing. 

“Those two okay?” Epps asked beside him. “Ironhide seems to want to kill the bot.”

“I don’t know what to tell you Epps.” The Captain sighed. 

“Maybe it’s a lover’s spat?” 

Lennox tried not to think about it too much. He really did not need that kind of drama in his life right now. 

“Slagging far from a lover’s spat.” The two soldiers turned to see Ratchet approaching. “This is ‘Hide’s way of showing he’s worried and trying to make it so he doesn't have to worry in the future.” 

Epps looked at him like he was crazy. 

“By beating the shit out of him?”

“Kind of like, the more I love you the more I hit you?” Lennox asked equally perplexed. 

“I’m declaring domestic abuse!” 

Ratchet glared down at them both. 

“No.” He growled. “He's simply taking disciplinary action. Ironhide is concerned for Sideswipe’s wellbeing because his fighting skills as of late, for lack of a better word, suck. ” 

Epps frowned. “What do you mean? All I've ever seen is Sideswipe kicking ass!”

“It’s difficult to explain.” Ratchet regretted having come over, but now that they’d asked... “Sideswipe is unfocused without his twin. I _did_ explain _that_ didn’t I?” It wasn’t a question, and both men knew it. They nodded frantically, not wanting to be stepped on. The medic hated when he answered questions only for the response to be forgotten at a later date. 

“Sideswipe is fighting poorly because he doesn’t have his brother to balance him out. He expects his back to be covered and any stray hits to be deflected by someone who simply isn't _there_. Ironhide is reteaching Sideswipe how to fight alone.”

The three gathered winced as Sideswipe was, once again, thrown to the side on his back, Ironhide easily having dodged his punches and kicks only to grab him by his neck and toss him aside.

They watched in silence for a few more minutes as Sideswipe got knocked down over and over again. He cursed at the larger mech and tried to retaliate, but Ironhide seemed unbothered by any violence toward him. In fact he seemed almost bored, and was definitely unimpressed.

“I don’t think it’s working.” Epps said breaking the silence. 

Ratchet sighed, faceplates turning serious with a hint of concern. “Yes. That’s what we’re worried about.”

 

**0000**

 

“Ow!” Sideswipe yelped as Ironhide tried to treat a dent on his shoulder.

“Stop moving you fragger.” He growled, fingers working under the plating to pop the dent right out. 

“It hurts!”

“You should have _dodged_!” 

“You surprised me!”

“No Decepticon is gonna give you a warning when they attack you from behind!”

They were both in what passed as the med bay. No one else was there, not having the courage to brave Ironhide’s obvious anger. Even Ratchet had made himself scarce (although only after warning the mechs that if anything was out of place they’d know _exactly_ how much pain their frames could tolerate before going into stasis). 

“I don’t get the point of this.” Sideswipe grumbled for what seemed like the 1000th time. 

“Ah told you. You-”

“Yeah yeah yeah I let my guard down and the Cons shoot me in the back.” 

Ironhide growled at how casual and uninterested Sideswipe had sounded. 

“You’re an idiot! What’s gonna happen when they come at you with a knife or shoot at you and you’re not ready?”

Sideswipe tried to speak, but Ironhide wouldn’t let him. 

“Let me tell you what will happen.” He turned the surprised mech around, snarling in his face. “The knife will slip between your back plating and it’ll embedded itself in your spark chamber, cracking it and touching your spark. The blaster fire will melt your plating, and if it’s strong enough, melt even your spark chamber. It will be a slow and painful death. Either way, you’ll be deactivated. And it’ll be your damn fault.”

The silver twin looked up at him with wide optics, too shocked by the anger in Ironhide’s optics, his words and their intensity. But it was what he said next that made his breath hitch and spark freeze.

“It’ll be your damn fault you die and your death will cause Sunstreaker’s too.”

Sideswipe’s shock turned to grief. He couldn’t bear to lose his brother, and the thought that it would be his fault made his spark clench in agony and guilt. 

“I-”

“And there’s someone else’s spark you’ll be taking with you as well.”

The front liner looked at him with pain reflecting in his optics. Who’s spark? Who’s spark would he be taking that would hurt as much as taking Sunny’s?

“Mine.” The anger Ironhide had been speaking with vanished, replaced by something Sideswipe never thought he’d hear in the older mech: sorrow and above all, _fear_.

Both mechs stayed in silence. Slowly, Ironhide returned to treating the front liner’s injuries, his touches going from annoyed and rough to gentle. 

“After all these vorns, now that Ah have you, Ah don’t plan on losing you. You _idiot_.” He said in a whisper. Sideswipe was still too overwhelmed and affected by all he’d heard to make a single sound. “You _need_ to learn to defend yourself. If not for yourself than for your brother and for...me.” He sighed. “Ah won’t let you deactivate because you didn’t think this was important.” 

Again they fell into silence, the silver twin processing everything and trying to come up with a good response. One that would make the pain he saw in the older mech go away. 

“‘Hide I-” He started. “I’m sorry. I didn’t mean- I’m not- I just-” He groaned, unable to come up with anything useful. “I didn’t think. I honestly didn’t. I’m so used to fighting either with Sunny or on my own.” With a sigh, Sideswipe lowered his helm until it hit Ironhide’s abdomen. “I’m not used to anything else ‘Hide.”

Ironhide brought a servo up to run over the silver twin’s helm. “Ah know Sides’. But we got to do something about it, you’re leaving yourself wide open to a lot of attacks.”

“It’s not working.” Sideswipe muttered dejectedly.

The older mech grunted. “Maybe. But we’ll keep on practicing until you learn to cover your back. Until then...” 

Sideswipe shifted to look up at him again when he trailed off. “Until then?”

Ironhide looked away, hiding his embarrassment. “Until then Ah’ll watch your back. We fight together, and try not to get separated in battle. You got that?”

The silver twin smiled, delight in his optics. 

“That’s not an encouragement to get better.”

Ironhide glared down at him. Sideswipe stood up, bringing his arms around the older mech’s neck. 

“Joking, just joking. You watch my back, I’ll watch yours. Good fighting skills or not. ‘Kay?” He whispered breathlessly, optics bright with emotion.

“Always.”  The weapons specialist sighed, leaning down so their lips met, sealing their promise with a kiss. 


End file.
